Action Plan – the Information Management Assessment of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Background

The National Archives conducted an Information Management Assessment (IMA) of the FCO in September 2009, as part of their rolling IMA programme. The FCO has accepted the recommendations made by the assessment team, and is now focused on implementing them – with the objective of raising the department’s information management capability. Key issues are summarised below.

Action Plan

Issue 1: FCO staff need to understand better why information matters, and what their responsibilities are. Top management need to set the example by championing knowledge and information management issues.

Action agreed: The FCO’s new Knowledge and Information Management Strategy will clarify who is responsible for what, and will be promoted by senior managers.

Issue 2: Electronic information is not managed as effectively as paper information, which could result in an incomplete record of important FCO policy decisions.

Action agreed: A programme of technical improvements to the FCO’s electronic records management system has been agreed, which will help ensure that key information is safely stored - to inform today’s policy-making, and to provide a complete record for future scholars.

Issue 3: The FCO is good at protecting and securing its information, but does not share it widely enough, both within the organisation and beyond. This means that the organisation is not achieving maximum business value from its information assets.

Action agreed: specialist staff will work with policy departments to help improve information and knowledge management capability across the FCO, and help colleagues to make good use of collaborative tools and techniques. In addition, a project is under way to create a more comprehensive register of FCO information assets.

Foreign & Commonwealth Office, September 2010